Centennial Symposium

Reflecting on the Past, Facing the Future

April 8-10, 2021
University of Oklahoma, Norman
Greenwood District, Tulsa, Oklahoma

All Times CDT | Free and Open to the Public

For additional information or for accommodations, please contact specialevents@ou.edu or (405) 325-1701.

IN-PERSON EVENTS

Attendance will be limited based on the university’s Covid-19 Phase III Return Plan.

Noon	Opening Ceremony: Welcome by OU’s Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Coordinating Committee co-chair Karlos Hill, remarks by OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. and Vice President Belinda Higgs Hyppolite, plus additional remarks by Caroline Lowery, executive director of Oklahoma Humanities
1:00 p.m.	“Imaging/Imagining the Tulsa Race Massacre in Art and Literature,” a panel discussion with contributors to the spring 2021 issue of World Literature Today, featuring Rilla Askew, Crystal Z Campbell, Marie Casimir, Ebony Iman Dallas, and Quraysh Ali Lansana, moderated by Daniel Simon (Centennial Coordinating Committee co-chair)
2:30 p.m.	Panel presentations by students from the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, led by Professors Ray Claxton and Thomas Patten
3:30 p.m.	A panel discussion with African/African American Studies majors moderated by Kalenda Eaton (professor and Centennial Coordinating Committee co-chair)

VIRTUAL EVENTS ON ZOOM

10:05 a.m.	Broadcast of the “I Dream of Greenwood” dance premiere, choreographed by Marie Casimir and J’aime Griffith (OU School of Dance), featuring a live talkback with Tracy K. Smith \| Archived here
Noon	"Uncovering a Tragedy: The Tulsa Race Massacre" plenary talk by University of Michigan professor Scott Ellsworth (Physical Investigation Committee, City of Tulsa 1921 Graves Investigation), followed by audience Q&A \| Archived here
1:30 p.m.	Panel on memorialization and the mass graves investigation with Phoebe Stubblefield (Forensic Anthropologist, University of Florida) and Brenda Alford (Public Oversight Committee, City of Tulsa 1921 Graves Investigation), moderated by Janet Ward (Senior Associate Vice President for Research and Partnerships), followed by Q&A \| Archived here
3:00 p.m.	"Black Wall Street 100" plenary talk by award-winning author Hannibal B. Johnson (Steering Committee, 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission), followed by audience Q&A \| Archived here
4:30 p.m.	"Life at the Crossroads: On Poetry, History, and the 21st Century" keynote talk by former U.S. Poet Laureate, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Princeton University professor Tracy K. Smith, followed by audience Q&A \| Archived here
8:00 p.m.	RESCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 16, at 8pm: Second screening of the dance performance outdoors at The Depot in downtown Norman

Greenwood District in Tulsa

2:00 p.m.	Tracy K. Smith’s virtual craft talk for OSU-Tulsa’s Center for Poets & Writers
5:00 p.m.	Readings from the “Redreaming Dreamland” issue of WLT at Fulton Street Books featuring contributing writers and Greenwood Art Project artists \| Archived here

This program is funded in part by the Norman Arts Council, Oklahoma Humanities (OH), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), with additional major funding from the University of Oklahoma’s Vice President for Research and Partnerships. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of its sponsors. For a complete list of sponsors, click here.